Around the NBA: Picks for NBA awards _ and league champion

Around the NBA: Picks for NBA awards _ and league champion

The Associated Press

Apr. 13, 2015

The final days of the NBA regular season have arrived with a few things still to be decided, such as a scoring champion and exactly who gets what seed in the respective brackets.

When the final whistle of the regular season blows late Wednesday night, it'll be time for two new seasons — the postseason, and awards season.

Here, we're about to tackle both.

AP Basketball Writers — Antonio Gonzalez, Jon Krawczynski, Brian Mahoney and Tim Reynolds — share their unofficial picks for several end-of-season awards. And at this time of year, you can't talk about awards without making a prediction for the NBA Finals.

First, there are still some things to watch this week.

All but two teams will be in action Wednesday night as the season concludes, and the first-round playoff schedule will likely come out late that evening. Then on Saturday, the second season gets underway with the first batch of Game 1 matchups.

Now, drum roll please, the picks:

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MVP

Gonzalez — Stephen Curry, Warriors. The engine powering the NBA's top team all season.

Krawczynski — Stephen Curry, Warriors. James Harden has been phenomenal, but Curry's on-off splits are crazy.

Mahoney — Stephen Curry, Warriors. Record-setting year for Warriors gives him slight edge over James Harden.

Reynolds — Stephen Curry, Warriors. LeBron James is still the best player on Earth, but Curry is the MVP.